Yearly Archives: 2007

Focus, Passion and Originality

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Karl Long, a Web/Social Media Integration Manager at Nokia, identifys three traits of a successful blog – focus, passion, & originality:

“Focus – I think one of the most important choices a blogger makes when they start their blog is what their focus is. Think about a first time visitor getting dropped on your blog from a search engine or stumbleupon, are they going to understand in 2 seconds exactly what your blog is about? If the answer is yes you will have a much better chance of building a readership quickly and you will have a successful blog. If not, you may well build a successful blog but it will take years as opposed to months.

Passion – This is the only possible way that you will be able to sustain regular posting of a high enough quality over the course of years. If you don’t have the passion your blog will become a ghost town very quickly. People talk about the passion in the writing, and how important it is for readers, but IMHO the passion is all about the ability to sustain you through the emotional roller coaster ride of writing a blog. Sure your passion will come through in your writing, but it is your passion that will keep you plugging away when no one is coming back, no one is commenting, and no one is linking to you. Passion may not be the only thing that will drag you along, but it is the most enjoyable so unless you are a masochist you better love what your talking about.

Originality – In branding terms, what differentiates you from the crowded playing field of blogs all talking about the same thing. They don’t call the blogosphere an echo chamber for nothing, because most of the time everyone is reflecting and amplifying what else is happening around the blogosphere. Original content and original ideas in the blogosphere stand out like beacons in the night, and not to labor the metaphor but they also attract other bloggers like moths to a flame.”

[via LexBlog]

Profitable blogs

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From an article by Sam Zuckerman at SFGate.com (San Francisco Chronicle):

“More quickly than most anyone imagined, blogging is growing up. From the blogosphere’s anarchistic roots, a professional cadre is emerging that is creating an industry whose top-performing businesses now earn serious money. The industry is expanding at warp speed. Blog-based media could just be poised to elbow aside traditional print and broadcast outlets to become one of the dominant sources of news, information and opinion, many observers believe.”

This is a must read for anyone in the media business. Management or foot soldier.

Thinkpad goes to a good home

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The high bid for the Thinkpad was $276.01. My little silent auction drew six bids. There was a tie for the high bid ($250) so I gave the high bidders an chance to submit another bid. Mary went up to $275 and Myra bid $276.01. I think that’s a fair price for the Thinkpad but I’ll hold on to the check for a few days, just in case she gets Buyer’s Remorse. Then it’s off to the local Humane Society. Thanks to all who submitted bids. Sorry, Henry, but this was a lot more fun than eBay.

Dunklin County Library Hall of Honor

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Barb’s pop –Dr. Paul C. Miltenberger– is one of eleven residents (and former residents) that will be inducted into the Hall of Honor at the county library.

To have been considered for induction, individuals "must have distinguished themselves within their occupation, trade, or field of endeavor, through intellectual, creative, humanitarian and professional accomplishments."

Great opportunity to visit with some old friends and spend quality time with family. Took a drive around the old home town but didn’t take any pix. Just too much plywood.

Dave Winer: “The Small Picture”

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Dave Winer weighs in on the relationship between subscriber numbers (to your blog or website) and actual readership, and why he’s more interested in “the small picture”:

“Ultimately what matters to me is not how many people subscribe to my feed, rather how much of a connection I can make with the people I want to connect with. I’m satisfied that the people I care about read my site.

I’m a blogger not a broadcaster. Blogging isn’t about mass markets, it’s about the small picture. My small picture (and for you, yours). I’m trying to draw a picture, create a frame of reference that’s personal, not corporate. I’m a zig to corporate media’s zag. I am a blogger. I am personal.”

I was a broadcaster for a dozen years. My father for 30+. The company I work for was once all about broadcasting (now less so). It’s a little… unsettling, to realize that I’m no longer a broadcaster.

So they’re not just slackers?

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You know, the 20-somethings that drop out of school, move back in with their folks and refuse to let good work habits get in the way of their lives?

“There used to be four common life phases: childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. Now, there are at least six: childhood, adolescence, odyssey, adulthood, active retirement and old age. Of the new ones, the least understood is odyssey, the decade of wandering that frequently occurs between adolescence and adulthood.

During this decade, 20-somethings go to school and take breaks from school. They live with friends and they live at home. They fall in and out of love. They try one career and then try another.”

Why is this, you wonder? NYT columnist David Brooks takes pretty good run at explaining what makes them tick (so slowly). You might have to create a free account to login and read the full piece but it’s an interesting read. [via Grow Learfield]

Transaction declared null and void

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A week ago I mentioned that I was selling my Thinkpad (IBM laptop) on eBay. Actually, my pal Henry was kind enough to list it on his eBay account. He told me not to expect much for a 3 year old laptop, so we were all surprised when the high bid topped out at $809! Too good to be true? Yes, it was.

This morning eBay posted a notice that said the transaction was null and void. Not sure why. I didn’t read it closely and Henry says he’s never seen that happen before.

Henry (a deacon in the First Church of eBay) wanted to re-list the laptop but I’ve decided to go a different direction.

After listing the computer on eBay, I discovered that a few people at work were interested in buying it (if the price were right). So, I’ve decided to hold a “silent auction.” I’m going to post a photo and specs on the bulletin board at work and invite anyone that’s interested to submit a sealed bid. On Friday, I’ll open the bids and the computer goes to the highest bidder. Done.

Seth Godin on “the mediocre middle”

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“Most industries innovate from both ends:

  • The outsiders go first because they have nothing to lose.
  • The winners go next because they can afford to and they want to stay winners.
  • It’s the mediocre middle that sits and waits and watches.

They wait for ‘proof’ that this new idea is going to work, or at least won’t prove fatal. (It’s the impulse to wait that made them mediocre in the first place, of course). So, in every industry, the middle waits. And watches. And then, once they realize they can survive the switch (or once they’re persuaded that their current model is truly fading away), they jump in. The irony, of course, is that by jumping in last, they’re condemning themselves to more mediocrity.”